Is the grass any greener?

Chris Evans

Chris made the leap from academic researcher to biotech entrepreneur at just 27 years of age. He is now one of the UK's most successful businessmen

Why did you decide to move away from research?

After I completed my postdoc I began to ask myself, why am I doing all this science? I wanted to know what my research would look like when it reached the end product. As I looked into it more I decided I wanted to make the products myself, so I joined the first wave of biotech companies. Being able to communicate well is the key. If you are good at it, you can help the marketing director sell the product. I would end up talking to the customer, telling them about the science, how it was the best, why it was the most efficient and why the price was brilliant. I found it very rewarding.

You were very young when you formed your first company. What made you take that leap?

After experiencing the sales and management side of working in biotech, I started producing detailed budgets. I realised then that I was only one step from forming my own company. I had lots of ideas from my sales experience - listening to customers, even when they didn't want what we were offering, was particularly important. On the back of this I developed my first company, Enzymatix. It started with just me, a pad and a pen. It was brilliant - seat of the pants stuff. My advice to young scientists is: if you want to do it, get off your backsides and don't be scared of failing.

Do you miss being an academic?

You do get pangs of frustration. I've now invested in or created some 250 medical projects and over 3000 people, and when I see some of the scientific results I think "are we doing this properly?" I can't be superman and think through every scientific aspect of every project myself so I do get frustrated occasionally, particularly when I am really passionate about an area and not convinced the work is being done properly.

Have you ever had any regrets?

Regrets? No. There was a moment earlier this year, though, where almost every single thing was going wrong in one day and I thought "I wish I was back huddled in the corner of a lab, waiting for the chromatography to develop with my sandwiches and a salary." But I soon realised this current economic situation is a nightmare for everyone and that companies I created have their own unique problems so I need to be part of their unique solution.

Do you need to experience the business world to be a successful entrepreneur?

You need a mixture of experience and gut-instinct to make good judgement calls, particularly to pick the right science, the right management people and the right customers. While you can get that experience by working your way up through a business, there are some academics that make the leap without any corporate experience and do very well because they are creative and intelligent. You need to be hard-working, smart and streetwise - those traits are really important.

Have you any tips for budding entrepreneurs?

You don't have to have big ideas right from the start. Most scientific entrepreneurs are 30 to 40 years old. And you don't need millions in the bank. When I formed and invested all my money in my first company I was soon on the breadline like any other scientist. Anyone can do it, but you must have the guts and determination to see your ideas through.

So, is the grass any greener?

The grass is definitely greener because there's a bigger pile of noughts on what you earn on the other side! But it may not all be as fun or exciting as academia - nothing is as stressful as being an entrepreneur in today's climate but I wouldn't change it for the world!

Incredibly hard work! But absolutely fantastic - I loved it. Making a television series is an intense experience as it takes six months to research and then it's filmed "as live", so you're really under pressure to perform.

Is TV presenting a difficult transition to make for an academic?

You have a lot to learn. Normally when a scientist lectures, the worst that can go wrong is the slides failing. When you're being filmed as live, however, you're trying to remember which camera to speak to, which props to point to - there's a lot more to think about and a huge amount to remember.

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